On third-and-4, with 66 seconds left, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow saw the blitz coming. The New York Jets sent eight defenders, attacking Tebow like a pack of dogs chasing a piece of meat, leaving three cornerbacks to protect the end zone.
So Tebow rolled left. He ran untouched -- after leading his team 95 yards in the final five minutes -- into the end zone for a stunning 17-13 win on Thursday Night Football.
"I actually am shocked," Revis said afterward. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not doubting Tim Tebow's skills or anything like that. He's a great football player, but we felt like we had him where we wanted him."
Oh, wait, you already knew about this scenario? You don't need a recap of a game that happened a year ago Saturday? Based on a story in today's New York Daily News, which cites several Jets players anonymously ripping Tebow by calling him "terrible" while suggesting he's not even a quarterback, it seems some of the people in that losing Jets' locker room needed the reminder.
"We can't win running that sh--," one anonymous player told the Daily News.
Well, if you can't win running that sh--, you can't win defending that sh--, either. But this isn't simply about a team that lost to Tebow last season. After all, that would be giving far too much credit to a 2011 Jets squad that lost to plenty of other mediocre teams, as well. This has now turned into a condemnation of an entire operation that brought a player on board with no awareness of his past.
This is like a person falling in love with a puppy in a pet shop window -- then being shocked when they get home to find out it requires two walks a day and plenty of attention. So you're telling me the Jets are surprised to find out Tebow isn't a good player in practice? Way to do your homework, guys.
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Let's be fair, here: It doesn't appear, at least on the surface, that coach Rex Ryan was among those to anonymously rip Tebow's ability. But Ryan also still hasn't switched to Tebow, which says enough about his own opinions of him, considering Mark Sanchez ranks last in the NFL in completion percentage, has completed less than 50 percent of his passes in five games this season and has thrown multiple touchdowns just twice in nine games.
If the Jets truly are shocked about the way Tebow plays in practice, it's time they do what they did with linebacker Aaron Maybin this week: Cut him. Maybin clearly was a failed evaluation of talent on the part of the Jets' front office, and it now appears, based on the judgment of the team's "anonymous" players, they believe the same about Tebow.
It's one thing to decide that one quarterback gives your team the best chance to win. That's fine. It's also something else to ignore the fact that Tebow beat your own team last season when you spent the whole week beforehand doubting his ability. Whatever. But perhaps the biggest issue here -- the biggest condemnation of the Jets' organization in the wake of their "realization" that Tebow isn't a good practice player -- is their clear inability to evaluate players before they acquire them.
While they're cutting Tebow, maybe they should fire everyone who ever filed a scouting report that led to the team's decision to trade for him. It would have taken nothing more than a Google search to realize the Broncos dealt with these very issues.
There are many troubling aspects of the latest report citing anonymous players ripping Tebow, the least of which have anything to do with Tebow's feelings. He's a big boy. He can handle the criticism. But the story also says other members of the organization painted a sobering picture of what they've seen from Tebow, meaning his teammates weren't the only ones who were surprised.
And so the bigger issue is simple: While many players in the Jets' locker room are busy questioning Tebow's ability because of the way he plays in practice, perhaps they should instead be questioning the ability of those who decided to bring him to New York.
Besides, at least Tebow has only played poorly in practice so far. The rest of the team continues to do the same in actual games.
Follow Jeff Darlington on Twitter @jeffdarlington
